Chapter 3
1127 Words
4:17 a.m. – Interstate 95, Northbound
The Bugatti screamed past 140 mph.
Wind howled through the cracked windshield.
Cassian’s blood still coated my palm—gold under the dashboard lights.
I didn’t look at him.
Couldn’t.
Three SUVs in the mirror.
Livia’s cavalry.
Cassian’s voice was low. “They’ve got jammers. Phones dead. GPS blind.”
“Good.” I swerved into the left lane. “Means no one’s tracking us.”
He stared at my hand. “Your blood—”
“Shut up.” I flexed my fingers. The cut was healing. Too fast.
His blood in me.
He leaned back. “You’re changing.”
“I said shut up.”
A black helicopter roared overhead—spotlight slicing the road.
I floored it.
The Bugatti fishtailed.
Cassian grabbed the wheel. “Bridge ahead. Toll plaza. Cameras.”
I smirked. “Watch.”
I yanked the emergency brake.
The car spun 180.
Headlights blinded the SUVs.
I rammed the lead one.
CRUNCH.
Airbags exploded.
I kicked the door open.
Grabbed the axe from the floor.
Cassian stumbled out. “Elara—”
“Stay in the car.”
The helicopter hovered.
A sniper leaned out.
I threw the axe.
It spun.
CLANG.
The sniper dropped—axe in his chest.
The chopper veered.
I ran to the wrecked SUV.
Driver dead.
I ripped the radio.
Static.
Then—Livia’s voice.
“You’re making this fun, breeder.”
I crushed the radio under my heel.
Cassian limped over. “We have to go.”
I pointed at the toll booth.
A guard—human—staring, phone up.
I walked over.
Grabbed his collar.
“Forget you saw us.”
He nodded—terrified.
I took his keys.
A maintenance truck.
I hot-wired it in six seconds.
Cassian raised a brow. “Nursing intern?”
“Mom taught me.”
We peeled out.
4:42 a.m. – Abandoned Warehouse District
I killed the lights.
Drove by moonlight.
Cassian’s fangs were retracted.
But his eyes—still hungry.
I parked behind a rusted shipping container.
“Talk.” I faced him. “Everything.”
He exhaled. “The daywalker isn’t just a child. It’s a weapon.”
“Explain.”
“Vampire council’s dying. Sunlight kills us. The daywalker can walk in daylight. Rule both worlds.”
“And you needed a human womb.”
He nodded. “Your bloodline—Kane—it’s rare. Fertile with vampire seed. Livia found you first.”
I laughed—bitter. “So I’m a f*****g incubator.”
“No.” His voice cracked. “I was supposed to hate you. Keep you locked. But—”
“But what?”
He looked away. “Your blood tastes like sunlight.”
I slapped him. Hard.
His lip split. Gold blood.
I grabbed his collar. “You don’t get to feel.”
He didn’t flinch. “I already do.”
Sirens in the distance.
I opened the glovebox.
Flare gun.
I loaded it.
“We’re burning the trail.”
5:05 a.m. – Warehouse Roof
I climbed the fire escape.
Cassian followed—silent.
From the roof, we saw six SUVs converging.
Livia stepped out of one.
White coat. Red heels.
She held a megaphone.
“ELARA. GIVE ME THE HEIR. OR I BURN THE CITY.”
I aimed the flare gun.
Cassian grabbed my arm. “She’s bluffing.”
“Is she?”
He hesitated.
I fired.
The flare arced.
BOOM.
A gas tank exploded.
SUVs flipped.
Livia screamed.
I grabbed Cassian. “Jump.”
We leapt—three stories.
He landed cat-like.
I rolled—ankle twisted.
He scooped me up. “Hold on.”
We ran.
5:27 a.m. – Underground Tunnels
Old subway lines. Abandoned.
I limped.
Cassian carried me.
“Put me down.”
“No.”
We found a service room.
I collapsed on a crate.
He knelt. “Your ankle—”
“Broken.”
He ripped his shirt. Bandaged it.
I watched him. “Why help me?”
“Because I’m a monster.” He met my eyes. “But not to you.”
I laughed—weak. “You drugged me.”
“I was ordered.”
“By Livia?”
“By the council.”
I grabbed his throat. “Names.”
He didn’t fight. “**Hargrove. Voss board. Three ancients. They want the daywalker to overthrow humans.”
I let go.
“And you?”
He looked at my stomach. “I want it to live free.”
I punched him. Again.
He took it.
“Stop making me feel.”
He smiled—sad. “Too late.”
6:11 a.m. – Safehouse
A motel under a fake name.
I showered.
Gold veins under my skin.
Cassian knocked.
I opened the door—naked.
He froze.
“See what you did?” I turned. Gold lines down my spine.
He stepped in. “It’s the bond.”
“Break it.”
“Can’t.”
I grabbed his shirt. “Then make it useful.”
I kissed him.
Not soft.
Teeth. Blood. Rage.
He growled.
Pushed me against the wall.
Fangs grazed my neck.
I arched. “Bite.”
He did.
Pain. Fire. Gold.
I screamed.
He drank—deep.
The baby kicked.
He pulled back—horrified.
“It’s okay,” I gasped. “It’s strong.”
He collapsed to his knees. “I’m sorry.”
I cupped his face. “We’re weapons now. Both of us.”
7:03 a.m. – Motel TV
BREAKING NEWS:
“VOSS CORP CEO MISSING. WIFE SUSPECTED IN ARSON.”
My face on screen.
Cassian’s too.
I smashed the TV.
“They’re framing us.”
He nodded. “Livia’s move.”
I opened the curtains.
Sunrise.
Cassian hissed—skin smoking.
I pulled him back. “You can’t go out.”
He looked at me. “You can.”
I stared at my hands.
Gold veins glowing.
“The daywalker,” he whispered. “It’s protecting you.”
I grabbed the axe.
“Then let’s use it.”
8:15 a.m. – Voss Corp Tower
I walked in alone.
Security froze.
“Elara Kane-Voss.” I smiled. “Here to see my husband.”
They didn’t stop me.
Top floor.
Hargrove waited.
Livia beside him.
Hargrove smirked. “Back so soon?”
I dropped the axe.
“I want a new contract.”
Livia laughed. “You’re in no position—”
I lifted my shirt.
Gold veins pulsing.
“I’m the position.”
Hargrove’s eyes widened.
I stepped forward. “The heir for my mother’s life. And Cassian’s freedom.”
Livia hissed. “Never.”
I smiled. “Then I burn this tower. With me in it.”
Hargrove paled.
I pulled a lighter.
“Your move.”
- Writer
